Synthesis of TiO<sub>2</sub>/SBA-15 Nanocomposites by Hydrolysis of Organometallic Ti Precursors for Photocatalytic NO Abatement
Ons El Atti,
Julie Hot,
Katia Fajerwerg,
Christian Lorber,
Bénédicte Lebeau,
Andrey Ryzhikov,
Myrtil Kahn,
Vincent Collière,
Yannick Coppel,
Nicolas Ratel-Ramond,
Philippe Ménini,
Pierre Fau
Affiliations
Ons El Atti
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Julie Hot
Laboratoire Matériaux et Durabilité des Constructions, INSA/UPS Génie Civil, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Katia Fajerwerg
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Christian Lorber
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Bénédicte Lebeau
Université de Haute-Alsace, CNRS, Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse (IS2M), UMR 7361, Axe Matériaux à Porosité Contrôlée (MPC), 68093 Mulhouse, CEDEX, France
Andrey Ryzhikov
Université de Haute-Alsace, CNRS, Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse (IS2M), UMR 7361, Axe Matériaux à Porosité Contrôlée (MPC), 68093 Mulhouse, CEDEX, France
Myrtil Kahn
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Vincent Collière
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Yannick Coppel
Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, CNRS, UPR 8241, 205 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Nicolas Ratel-Ramond
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets, UMR 5215, INSA/CNRS/Université de Toulouse, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Philippe Ménini
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes, CNRS, UPR 8001, 7, Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31031 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
Pierre Fau
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets, UMR 5215, INSA/CNRS/Université de Toulouse, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, CEDEX 4, France
The development of advanced photocatalysts for air pollution removal is essential to improve indoor air quality. TiO2/mesoporous silica SBA-15 nanocomposites were synthesized using an organometallic decoration method, which leverages the high reactivity of Ti precursors to be hydrolyzed on the surface water groups of silica supports. Both lab-made Ti(III) amidinate and commercial Ti(IV) amino precursors were utilized to react with water-rich SBA-15, obtained through a hydration process. The hydrated SBA-15 and the TiO2/SBA-15 nanocomposites were characterized using TGA, FTIR, 1H and 29Si NMR, TEM, SEM, N2 physisorption, XRD, and WAXS. This one-step TiO2 decoration method achieved a loading of up to 51.5 wt.% of approximately 9 nm anatase particles on the SBA-15 surface. This structuring provided excellent accessibility of TiO2 particles for photocatalytic applications under pollutant gas and UV-A light exposure. The combination with the high specific surface area of SBA-15 resulted in the efficient degradation of 400 ppb of NO pollutant gas. Due to synergistic effects, the best nanocomposite in this study demonstrated a NO abatement performance of 4.0% per used mg of TiO2, which is 40% more efficient than the reference photocatalytic material TiO2 P-25.